HEINEKEN has announced the establishment of its first Global Generative AI (GenAI) Lab in Singapore, marking a significant milestone in the brewer’s digital transformation journey. Developed in collaboration with AI Singapore, the lab aims to harness the potential of GenAI to enhance productivity, customer engagement and operational efficiency across its global business.

The new GenAI Lab will serve as a central hub for the development of scalable AI solutions designed to tackle complex business challenges, ranging from intelligent financial reporting to next-generation customer support systems.

It will also play a key role in standardising AI-driven solutions for implementation across HEINEKEN’s global operations.

Ronald den Elzen, Chief Digital and Technology Officer at HEINEKEN, underscored the strategic importance of this move. “HEINEKEN aims to be the world’s best-connected brewer. GenAI will play an increasingly important role in understanding consumer needs, enhancing customer engagement, and improving productivity throughout the company.”

“The establishment of the Global GenAI Lab marks a significant milestone in HEINEKEN’s digital transformation journey, highlighting our strategic focus on advanced GenAI technologies as essential drivers for growth, efficiency and innovation,” he said.

The Lab will operate as an ongoing partnership with AI Singapore. It will foster continuous knowledge exchange and talent sharing, combining HEINEKEN’s digital specialists with AI Singapore’s expertise.

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A highly specialised full-time team is expected to be in place by the end of 2025, drawing talent from both organisations and tapping into Singapore’s robust AI ecosystem.

Kenneth Choo, Managing Director, APAC, HEINEKEN, highlighted the lab’s regional significance. “By taking this significant step, HEINEKEN is strategically positioning ourselves for a resilient and thriving future, reaffirming our commitment to Singapore and the Asia Pacific region,” he said.

“By harnessing Singapore’s exceptional AI ecosystem, skilled talent and supportive government policies, we are excited to drive the development of innovative solutions that will transform the beverage industry for years to come.”

The GenAI Lab’s research and development agenda will focus on creating intelligent agentic systems capable of solving complex problems autonomously. Planned applications include automated marketing content creation, intelligent financial reporting, advanced customer support, and knowledge management systems.

Laurence Liew, Director of AI Innovation at AI Singapore, expressed confidence in the collaboration’s potential impact. “We are excited to partner with HEINEKEN on this long-term strategic collaboration, marking them as the first organisation to work with AI Singapore in building an AI lab and centre of expertise for AI innovation.”

“By combining HEINEKEN’s industry expertise with AI Singapore’s cutting-edge AI capabilities and talent, we are creating a powerful model for how private and public sector collaboration can drive innovative solutions with real-world impact.”

Venturing into GenAI

HEINEKEN’s venture into GenAI builds upon its existing track record of leveraging AI technologies. Previous initiatives include a financial insights platform providing instant access to a decade’s worth of financial data and the KIM (Knowledge and Insight Management) system, which streamlines how marketing teams access consumer and market insights.

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The company outlined its dual focus for GenAI projects: developing accessible AI tools to boost individual employee productivity and building specialised applications to solve functional challenges.

“Our most impactful AI products are designed to tackle business challenges and are chosen based on their potential to create value or provide a strategic edge,” a HEINEKEN spokesperson explained. “Our product lifecycle always starts with the end user, and our GenAI products are tailored to their needs and developed to solve their pain points.”

Beyond the Lab, HEINEKEN continues to scale AI initiatives across markets. In Mexico, AI has transformed distribution processes, with 80 per cent of orders now placed online. AI tools guide sales strategies, helping determine promotional targets or predict customer churn.

Several AI-driven products have already had a measurable impact on the company. The Artificial Intelligence Data-Driven Advisor (AIDDA), deployed in eight markets, supports 490,000 daily customer engagements by guiding sales representatives on optimal actions.

The Product Recommender system, active in seven markets, offers personalised suggestions based on customer behaviour, while Falcon, an image recognition tool, simplifies retail audits.

In marketing, Allocation AI optimises spending across brands and channels, delivering incremental gross profit in three markets. Additionally, the Promo Advisor suite enables targeted promotion planning and optimisation, supporting sales growth and return on investment.

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Image Credit: HEINEKEN

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